Gender gap narrows even more

Lehtikuva / martti KainulainenFinland leads the world in terms of equality

Finland has moved back up to second place in an annual report by the World Economic Forum which looks at how wellresources and opportunities are divided among men and women.

The Global Gender Gap Reportby the Geneva-based WEF ranks countries on their ability to close the gender gap in four areas: access to health, education, political participation and economic equality.

The study notes that there is no gender gap in Finland when it comes to educational attainment and health and survival, giving the country top marks in these categories.

It highlighted such features as universal literacy for both sexes, gender parity at both primary and secondary level, and the fact that in Finland women make up the majority of those in tertiary education.

Finland also ranked second overall in the category of political empowerment.

Along with other Nordic countries, labour force participation rates for women are among the highest in the world, says the report.

Salary gaps between women and men are among the lowest in the world though they do still exist, and women have abundant opportunities to rise to positions of leadership.

This year, the report evaluated135 countries, representing more than 93 per cent of the world’s population.

Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden took the top spots with Finland and Norway swapping places in the rankings this year.